totally discouraged about the state of my thinline

[davo416]

I'm really having a problem with finding a good guitar tech.I purchased a new wiring harness with the 4 way switch mod but the problem being is there is a humbucker in the neck.I think this really baffled the guy.I'm apparently ignorant and not sure this application is feasible with this neck pickup.It is noisy as hell which sounds like a ground issue.The bottom line is the guitar sounds like crap and this guitar has become a money pit.This is the second wire job from the ground up and this 4 way mod sounds like crap.I'm ready to give up and sell this albatros off cause down here in tampa florida there seems to be a shortage of competant techs.I need help with a wiring diagram with a humbucker on the neck and the 4 way switch mod.I gotta do this myself because I can't afford to keep paying clowns to f up my main guitar,

[cc9cii]

Can you post pic and/or diagram of what you have now? Maybe it can be fixed? Do you have an ohm meter?

[Robbied_216]

Of course it will be fixable. You can't really break a guitar by wiring it up wrong, so it'd just be a case of re-wiring til you get it right. There is plenty of schematics on the net, especially on the Seymour Duncan website. Sometimes it takes a little mixing and matching of different arrangements to work out what it is you need.

Don't be discouraged. Think about what you could learn from the experience. And anyway, if you sold it out of frustration, you wont get what its really worth if its wired up wrong.

[JimmyJam]

Originally Posted by Robbied_216

Of course it will be fixable. You can't really break a guitar by wiring it up wrong, so it'd just be a case of re-wiring til you get it right. There is plenty of schematics on the net, especially on the Seymour Duncan website. Sometimes it takes a little mixing and matching of different arrangements to work out what it is you need.

Don't be discouraged. Think about what you could learn from the experience. And anyway, if you sold it out of frustration, you wont get what its really worth if its wired up wrong.

+1 to that. I wouldn't take my tele to someone else to be soldered. You should be able to find plenty of info here at TDPRI on 4-way switching.

I guess I gotta ask if you had any soldering experience.

If not, it's not too hard, really; but always follow safety precautions when soldering.

[Mark Davis]

4 way switches have caused more probs and questions than any other mod I can think of.

First you have to get a matching diagram and switch.

Most people use a Tele neck pickup with an extra ground wire added so it has 2 grounds and 1 hot.

I dont remember seeing anyone using a bucker with a 4 way but that doesnt mean it cant be done.

[Mark Davis]

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...ic=tele_2h_4ws

Take a look at this its 2 buckers with a 4 way you might be able to wire the bridge like a regular Tele and make it work.

[PeteMac]

I have a 4 way in one of mine. 2 single coils that sound pretty much like a hummer in the 4th pos. (I love this mod. btw. Very versatile.)
I'm a bit ignorant on this stuff, but what would be the aim of having a humbucker added to a single coil in the 4th position?
Or is the aim to coil tap the hummer in the 4th pos.?

[woodman4103]

I have a Thinline with a HB in the neck position and a 4 way switch and to make it harder to wire also a S-1 switch. I have found a similar set-up on the Fender wiring site and followed it and WTF it doesn't work or i missed something - so i have started from scratch.
Get a pencil and paper and draw all your components and wires from your PUs. If you have one get a multimeter (or a torch and some alligator clips) and work out what lug on the 4 way switch is connected to which other lug - think of it as meditation or what Leo originally had to do.
Two of the wires from your HB will be earth wires and they will go on to your tone pot. Work out your drawing and then connect it one PU at a time. I would say - been wrong before though - 4 way switch closest to the neck position is HB. Next position is both in parallel - next postion is brigde alone and the final position is both in series.
Down load a few wiring diagrams from the Fender Support page and in particular have a look at this one - http://www.fender.com/support/diagra...141502APg2.pdf - it is the Baja it has a 4 way with a S-1 but you will get the idea and also the an idea of the capacitors.
it may not help your playing but it is good for the soul.

[jwells393]

This shouldn't be a problem. Here's the 4-way switch wiring diagram.

......

A humbucker has 5 wires ..........two from each coil and a bare wire. In the case of a Seymour Duncan the red and white wires are spliced together and taped. Now you have three wires. The bare wire goes to ground. Treat the last two wires as the diagram above shows.

The picture below is a composite of the diagram above and the one Mark linked to. Click the bar to enlarge it. Hmmm.......... looks like an error on the diagram on the right. That is clearly not a 3-way switch. Note the similarities on how the pickups are wired.



Humbucker wiring color codes will vary with brand. See the Seymour Duncan diagram below.

......

[podboy3]

This is something you should be able to to do yourself (you need to learn), for every guitar you get and all the pickup combinations you are gonna hand a lot of cash to a guitar tech for a simple job, Get an iron, some scrap wire that is the same gauge, some solder of course, and start practicing... If you have to google for a tutorial on soldering, it will be time well spent.

Also, It has been a while since I have been in Tampa but there is a Tech that works for the Sam Ash (if it is still Sam Ash) on North Dale Mabry, I cannot remember his name but he was the tech at the original Thoroughbred Music when it used to be in Tampa, If you go in ask to talk to the Tech and find out if he is the one.... If he is the same guy then you got yourself a good tech right there, If he's not there see if you can track him down, it would be well worth it.

[Ronkirn]

A humbucker isn’t all that complicated, basically all it is, is two single coils side by side or stacked on top of each other.

Each single coil will have 2 wire coming out of it. One is where the coil winding was started, or the “start”, and the other where it was completed, or the “finish”.

On 4 wire humbuckers there will usually be a 5th, bare, which is soldered to the pickup case, or frame. It should always be connected to ground.

On the single lead humbuckers, there is a shielded lead from the pup. In those the two coils each have one of the 2 leads either the start or finish (depending on what ya wanna do) connected and the remaining lead form each become either the “hot” or + or the Ground or – or shield, it will be connected to the pickup frame.

If this stumps your tech, you need a new guy to handle the electronics. Some electronics can get kinda confusing, but a 4 way ain’t like wiring up the CERN particle accelerator.

Ron Kirn

[woodman4103]

This might help too - http://www.tdpri.com/articles/gifs/tele_4way.gif